On Jan 24, 7:22 pm, k4556 wrote:
On 24 Jan 2007 10:13:44 -0800, "Jay Chan"
wrote:

On Jan 23, 8:12 pm, k4556 wrote:
On 23 Jan 2007 01:31:09 -0800, "

wrote:
Thanks for the replies! Frank, glad to hear from you! (See some of
our recent rambles athttp://terryking.usand
http://terryking.us/photoalbum)

k4556 wrote:
Terry,

I have lived in Asia for the past thirty years and while certainly
both work boats and yachts were built in Hong Kong in the past those
days are long gone ...
Great information.. I've learned more on the groups than with a lot of
Googling... I didn't mean to be too much down the nose at the RHK
club. I just had read an article about all the new Chinese Billionaires
and how they can't get dock space in HK for their new 90 footers...

I'll look for the references you made..

Are there boat 'yards' / builders up the Pearl river a way too?

Thanks!Terry,

I believe that "Seahorse", who builds both in fiberglass and steel,
yards are on the Pearl River a short ferry trip from Hong Kong.

While there probably are Chinese Billionaires at the RHKYC there are
also a lot of ordinary folks there too and probably worth a visit.

Ibid
(k4556ATinetDOTcoDOTth)

--
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Ordinary folks in Hong Kong don't own a car, and even less likely to
own a boat.

Although people in Hong Kong tend to earn a good income, they spend
most of the money in housing and don't have much disposable income left
-- meaning: no boating.

Jay Chan

I don't want to get into some sort of a flame war here but there are
probably more boats per capita in Hong Kong then anywhere I've
visited. Visit any of the junk anchorages around the island, the
Typhoon Shelter, etc..

While these are hardly "yachts" they are boats and there is an entire
infrastructure to support them.

Ibid
(k4556ATinetDOTcoDOTth)

--
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No flame war from me either. I am just trying to let the OP knows what
class of people he may deal with if he join a boat club in Hong Kong.
This is like judging the whole US based on the impression of visiting
New York City -- not a correct impression.

There are quite a number of boat people in Hong Kong. But they are
probably not doing this totally by choice. In the old time, they used
to be forced to stay on the boat because of various reasons (lack of
farm land, economic, discrimination, ...etc). Now, no one pushed them
away by force. Nevertheless, they tend to be poor. And with land
price sky high and they are poor, they are forced to stay on the boats.
Theirs are definitely not considered as recreational boating, and are
not the kind of people you may meet in the boating club.

Yes, you will see a lot of boats parked in typhoon shelters from
satellite pictures. But when you look at them from the ground level,
you will see that they are not the kind of boats that you have in mind.
They are pretty much the live-on-board boats for poor boat people.
They are the products of extremely expensive land in Hong Kong.

On the other hand, people in US tend to have a higher income, more
disposable income, and the "relatively" high currency exchange rate.
This makes boating a sport that is open to a lot of people. Even
middle class American can afford boating, and this is a good thing.

In other words, you probably meet a lot of ordinary people in boating
club in US. But the same thing cannot be said about the people in
boating club in Hong Kong.

Jay Chan

On Jan 25, 6:53 pm, "Jay Chan" wrote:
....
Yes, you will see a lot of boats parked in typhoon shelters from
satellite pictures. But when you look at them from the ground level,
you will see that they are not the kind of boats that you have in mind.
They are pretty much the live-on-board boats for poor boat people.
Jay Chan

Jay, thank you very much for the perspective.. this is what I was
hoping for when I started this thread.. what are the majority of boats
like in China? I want to get access to / buy a boat when I get to
Shenzhen/Shekou. I do not want a typical Western cruiser or runabout
type boat. Been there, built that.. I can't afford (don't want) a
Luxury-Tricked-Out Air-Conditioned 50 foot "Junk" for $200,000 . I need
to understand what the 'indigenous' boats are like: their construction,
materials, lifespan, repairability, propulsion variants etc etc. I
want a low-cost boat that needs work, because I need to work on boats!
A re-engine job on a fishing type boat with a decent hull would be
great.. I like engine work, and have some ideas for adaptations. I
want to end up with a boat that is comfortable for some overnights with
2 - 4 people, seaworthy for short weather-aware cruises, still 'looks
like it's peers on the outside', and has some of my favorite
electronics toys inside.

Is this a achievable fantasy?? :-)

Any information, pointers, comments welcome!

On Jan 26, 4:52 am, " wrote:
On Jan 25, 6:53 pm, "Jay Chan" wrote:
...

Yes, you will see a lot of boats parked in typhoon shelters from
satellite pictures. But when you look at them from the ground level,
you will see that they are not the kind of boats that you have in mind.
They are pretty much the live-on-board boats for poor boat people.
Jay ChanJay, thank you very much for the perspective.. this is what I was
hoping for when I started this thread.. what are the majority of boats
like in China? I want to get access to / buy a boat when I get to
Shenzhen/Shekou. I do not want a typical Western cruiser or runabout
type boat. Been there, built that.. I can't afford (don't want) a
Luxury-Tricked-Out Air-Conditioned 50 foot "Junk" for $200,000 . I need
to understand what the 'indigenous' boats are like: their construction,
materials, lifespan, repairability, propulsion variants etc etc. I
want a low-cost boat that needs work, because I need to work on boats!
A re-engine job on a fishing type boat with a decent hull would be
great.. I like engine work, and have some ideas for adaptations. I
want to end up with a boat that is comfortable for some overnights with
2 - 4 people, seaworthy for short weather-aware cruises, still 'looks
like it's peers on the outside', and has some of my favorite
electronics toys inside.

Is this a achievable fantasy?? :-)

Any information, pointers, comments welcome!

Unfortunately, I don't know much about boating in Hong Kong and the
surrounding area. Remember that most ordinary people in Hong Kong have
little experience in boating (except for row boats), and I was one of
them.

Based on my experience in seeing boats in Hong Kong, most boats are
wooden boats called "junks" with high bow and high stern with a lower
mid- section. Each has a sail and a small engine to propel the boat at
displacement speed. The propeller shaft is probably through the hull,
and it is being steered using a rudder. It is not painted, instead the
wood have some transparent finish on it -- not sure what that is. I
don't recall seeing any outboard motor; but I was not looking. They
may have used old car engine as the power plant. The boat has an open
top, and it has a canvas to cover most of the deck (except for the
bow), the canvas can be folded up. The boat tends to be fat and wide
for carrying cargo in a short distance from cargo ship to the loading
dock.

The boats from mainland China tend to be longer and slimmer than the
local boats in Hong Kong. This might have to do with the fact that
they need to carry cargo for a longer distance from mainland China to
Hong Kong. The boats are wooden boats and are painted in standard grey
and may painted with some slogans on the hull (during Cultural
Revolution). The boat has wooden structure to cover the deck.

Not sure about fishing boats. I know they were there somewhere based
on the daily fresh sea food available in the market. But I surely
cannot recall seeing them.

Fiberglass boats are not common.

This is based on what I saw in Hong Kong 20+ years ago. But I doubt
that anything has changed because the underlying factors remain
unchanged.

Please don't think of docking and living on your boat in a typhoon
shelter inside the city. The water in the typhoon shelter doesn't
smell that great. You definitely need to find some place outside the
city.

Jay Chan

My experience, traveling to China, Hong Kong, and/or Korea each summer
for the last 12 years, is that recreational boats are a very rare site.
Most years I don't see any. I was fortunate this past Summer to be
just a few miles away from the venue for the Beijing Summer Olympics,
and was delighted to be at a hotel that had numerous sailboats
available for rental at the beach across the way, but this is a big
exception. (and I was impressed the locals are very skilled at getting
them moving amazingly fast in the prevailing light air)

In regards to Hong Kong, the extreme traffic (fishing boats), cramped
marina's (boats rafted 20 deep), and polution in the waters around Hong
Kong would seem to discourage recreational boats except for the
extremely determined, especially sailboats sans auxillarys (unless you
enjoy tacking 30 times per hour).

Not familiar with that Yacht club you mentioned, maybe you should
really check it out first rather than later.

Dan